3000 gal water feature underway!

[fmjnax]

Well, I'm finally going MONSTER (at least in my typical world). My 75g aquarium just isn't enough, so it's time to build a pond in the backyard. I've been planning this for months and just now started excavation (had to wait for utility companies to come mark my lot).

The pond is uniquely shaped, but I estimate it to be in the neighborhood of 2500 and 3000 gallons (13x11x3 at the greatest). I had originally planned on stocking koi or goldfish, but decided I wanted something with a little more "fun". I will be stocking it with local bluegill/sunfish (my boat slip at the marina produces these things like crazy!).

In addition to the pond, I will have a stream in the neighborhood of 10 feet by 3 feet, a few inches deep. And since a stream just can't magically appear, I will have a waterfall and bog filter to supply it. I will be building up a knoll with the backfill from the pond. This will house the bog filter, which will be 5x5x2. Using a 3200gph @ 10' head pump, I will supply the bog filter with water, which will then gravity feed over my 3 or 4' falls, into the stream.

I will be using 45mil EPDM liner with underlayment. As already stated, I've got a submersible pump with a 10' head of 3200gph. Bog filter will be installed with a bottom drain/cleanout for backflushing. Going to attempt to make it as [Texas] natural as possible, using as little rock as I can. I plan on initially stocking 15 or 20 bluegill/sunfish in the 4-6" range, after the bog filter starts to establish. Hopefully I will be able to get a healthy stock going and will be able to test out new fishing flies/jigs on them.

I am currently in the dig process. I've only removed the sod for now, so no pics as of yet. My yard is 100% black clay, so digging this thing myself is going to be a chore. I will keep a log of my progress and will be more than glad to answer any questions!

 

[Dr Joe]

Congrats on the new pond . Sounds like a winner!

Suggestion for the stream...dig it 4" deeper and fill with sand to polish the water coming out of the bog filter. This will give you a great bio-filter area.

Oh, we here at MFK love pix of holes in the ground () so you can start posting anytime and just keep a running thread.

Keep us posted,

Dr Joe

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[frasertheking]

keep the details and take pics of every step no matter how boring or pointless it seems . good luck cant wait to see this one develop

 

[kilroy229]

good luck on getting it done, when I get my next house one of the things I'm looking for will be a yard big enouhg for a 3000+ pond. hope to see pics soon, I'm working on a 1200g one now

 

[fmjnax]

I will find my camera when I get home and snap some pics to officially start this thing off! I will warn you that it will be a very long drawn out journal. I will only be digging as time allows, and being that I am in clay, the digging will be slow. I will be purchasing all of my hardware (liner, underlayment, pump, pipes, etc) within the next 6 weeks, so that gives me plenty of time to dig without breaking my back.

As for the sand and stream Dr Joe: I had originally (and still, in terms of liner size to buy) planned on the stream being 1 foot deep and not just a few inches. I'm still up in the air as to exactly what depth I will go. It will likely just happen as I dig it. The sand is an interesting idea. How would I keep it in the stream and not end up being washed in to the pond? I guess if I have very little current in the stream, it won't be a big deal, but still...

 

[fmjnax]

Picture time!

I finished removing 99% of the sod from the site. Luckily, our house is just 3 months old, so the sod was pretty easy to pull up. It also SUCKS, thus why you see it piled up in piles. The vast majority of it is not worth saving at all. I also started to break up the soil in the small leg of the pond and will work on getting the majority of it gone this weekend.

This first image is the best overall image I got tonight:

Here is the stream and waterfall/bog filter. Having a nice "natural" slope is going to help my stream a lot. I opted to shrink it a tad from 3' to about 2.5'. You will also see the oval/rectangle site that will be the waterfall/bog filter. Backfill from excavating the pond will go here. I will pack it down every other day to ensure a good footing. Being solid black clay (after the layer of soil the builder put down) will help to ensure a solid knoll.

Look at the trash in my yard! None of it is mine (except for the plywood and white lattice to keep the dog from digging), imagine that. This is just a shot of the beginning of the soil breakup with the axe. See that lovely black clay? Oi, my back is already starting to hurt.

I had some other shots, but they turned out too poor and was essentially the same thing. Here's my current agenda, for those that want to stay tuned:
1) finish basic pond excavation
2) finish basic knoll build-up
3) level pond
4) build berm around pond (I have some pretty crappy drainage in the yard. Will be doing drywells and french drains in the near future)
5) excavate basic stream
6) finish excavation of bog filter once knoll is built up
7) install bottom drain piping in bog filter
8) fine tune the pond elevations
9) install underlayment, liner, pump, etc
10) fill!

And that essentially is what I call Phase 1. Phase 2 will be the addition of hardscape, flora, and eventually fauna. I am guessing the first phase will take me about 6 weeks, which gives me a pretty good pace for my agenda.

Stay tuned for more tomorrow (unless the North Texas rains tonight wash me out)!

 

[Muske]

Welcome... I live in Illinois and know all about clay. If lucky, one might have 6" of top soil in their yard before the clay. I have used a clay spade before on ponds to help w/the digging. It can be rented at rental spot and is basically a power shovel on the end of a jack hammer. Not a 90lb. jack hammer, but more of a homeowner electric hammer. Helps w/the clay, but buddies and beer can be just as effective...

 

[fmjnax]

I may have to look in to that Muske. Thanks!

We had some killer storms roll through last night, so it looks like no more digging for me until probably Monday.

 

[Muske]

Get after it!!!! It's the weekend and the clay is softened for you now.

 

[fmjnax]

You sure were right Muske! Once I got around the initial layer of water still sitting in the site, it was a breeze. I spent probably about 3 hours or so out working/playing this afternoon. It took A LOT of dedication to work on the pond instead of heading to the marina for some fishing. Absolutely perfect day today. I'll probably give in and go tomorrow, so it's all good.

I'm pretty much done with the major excavation on the smaller/shallow portion of the pond. I've got a few more inches of clay to pull out to get the depth I want. I broke it up with the axe and just need to shovel it away. I lightly tapped it down to get an overall view of where I was at. I'm at about 18" and want it closer to 24". The front shelf is pretty much where I want it (between 10" and 12"), but I'll grade it out in more detail after the full hole is dug. I'm not a great photographer, but you're looking at a hole with dimensions around 7'x6'x1.5'. The bottom left is where the stream feeds into the pond. You can see the large "shallow" shelf, which is between 9" and 12". It then drops down to about 16" at the right of the picture (where I need to shovel away the clay), which then slopes to the 18" near the top of the picture. When I get the berm around the pond, these dimensions as-is will actually make the 18" deep section about 22-24", if I fill it to the top.

Here is a better shot of the clay I need to shovel out. It sticks out like a sore thumb. This is taken from the left side of where the stream feeds to pond.

Here is an overall shot. You can see the knoll building up nicely for the bog filter and waterfall. I packed it down every 30 minutes. I came inside before the final pack of the day. It still has a long ways to go, but I still have plenty of soil that needs to be excavated. My plan is to use as much backfill as I can for this hill, but I have to keep it at least 12" away from the retaining wall in the back. I will also be digging a French drain around the final hill to keep any drainage from the retaining wall from eroding my hill ('cause that just would not be cool). Oh, for reference, the height of that retaining wall is about 3'.

And since I can't be the only one in the house to have some fun...

I may do some more work this evening, but I'm not sure. Maybe I will at least finish my excavation on the shallow section and tap down the hill. Just stay tuned for more updates!